


Joy On Vacation

by okoriwadsworth



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, POV Barry Allen, POV Laurel Lance, POV Oliver Queen, POV Patty Spivot, Protective Oliver Queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-07
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25118839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okoriwadsworth/pseuds/okoriwadsworth
Summary: Barry Allen loves Patty Spivot. Oliver Queen loves Laurel Lance. They're about to tell each other how much.
Relationships: Barry Allen/Patty Spivot, Laurel Lance/Oliver Queen
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	Joy On Vacation

Happy Surprise.

(Author’s Note: This takes place in an AU between seasons 3 and 4 of Arrow, and between Seasons 1 and 2 of the Flash. Enjoy.)

**_On a bullet train to Starling City……_ **

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(Oliver Queen’s POV)

There were days when it seemed like the life of Oliver Queen had somehow become simpler than he ever could have imagined it being when he was on Lian Yu. Sure, he had discovered the existence of metahumans but it turned out that he was fond of Barry Allen in the same way one would be fond of a little brother. Sometimes even, he could marvel at how joyous the Fastest Man Alive was despite all that he had lost.

And like brothers would, they helped each other. It had been Oliver who he had called first when the depths of Harrison Well’s betrayal had become clear. It had been Barry who had snuck into Nanda Parbat when Oliver had foolishly challenged Ra’s Al Ghul, and spirited a dying Oliver back to Starling City where Team Arrow had saved his life.

And right now, Oliver Queen was heading on a high-speed bullet train to help his little brother Barry with constructing a proper proposal to his love Patty Spivot. But what Dinah Laurel Lance didn’t know, couldn’t know, was that he Oliver was going to use this time to bind himself to his love.

Laurel and Oliver had grown closer ever since she had become his partner in all things. They had even managed to go on a few dates, mostly to unassuming local restaurants in the Glades where it sometimes felt like more money was spent on bribing the local health inspector to keep the place open than it was to make fancy décor or fine cuisine. These were people making hearty meals from their home countries, so every meal was laden with love and warmth.

This, more so than the gleaming skyscrapers and global industries inside them, was and always had been the wealth of Starling City. The people here were the things he loved, and treasured. He, and Laurel, would protect them.

**_Meanwhile, in Central City……._ **

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Barry Allen was giddy. And when he got giddy, electricity literally flew out of his fingers. Ever since he had developed his speed, and become the Flash, there were things about his new life that seemed deeply perfect to him in a way his old life as a nerdy CSI desperate to solve his mother’s murder never did. For instance, he could do all the cool things he had always wanted to do. Just the other day, he helped Ms. Thomas over by the Smith Bridge paint her fence and finish her yardwork after stopping a mugging, three assaults, and an attempted carjacking. Speed like he had meant he could do more than others to keep his city bright and safe, and he loved knowing that.

And the other thing was that he did love saving people. Just the other day, he had saved all of Restaurant Row from a network of people who were stealing supplies and food to sell them on the black market at sometimes quintuple the cost. As a payment for this, every restaurant had put a screen-printed lightning bolt tip jar on their window meaning that when he was out on patrol rebuilding his city at night, he could keep his calories up by paying for some truly great local food without having to worry about eating those flavorless protein bars STAR Labs had made for him.

But today, his giddiness wasn’t about saving a life, at least not in the typical sense of it. Rather, he was here to bring Laurel and Oliver together. Ever since the first time he met them, even before he had his powers, he was struck with how comfortable they were with each other. Little things, like how he knew when she needed coffee before she even asked or the comforting way she ran her thumb across the back of his hand when he looked annoyed about something, that reminded him of what he could remember about his parents and their love. So, when he had to save Oliver and Laurel from being shot and stabbed, and discovered he was the Green Arrow and that she was the Black Canary, he saved their lives without thinking about it.

Then, that same night, he got his speed. Even now, if you asked him, he couldn’t explain any of it. All he knew was that a lightning bolt hit him when the STAR Labs particle accelerator exploded, and before he knew it, he was fast enough to run a three-minute mile. So, when he got his speed, he called Oliver and Laurel and asked for their advice. They told him to find a partner who would make the hard times easier, and to wear a mask. (That last bit appeared to be an inside joke, for the two of them.)

And when Oliver called him, and explained the depths of the subterfuge he had planned, Barry smiled. Sure, he felt a little off about using his love with Patty to make the plan work perfectly so he asked her about it. Turns out, and this was one of the reasons he loved her the way he did, she loved the whole idea. Patty and Laurel had met a few times, when Laurel had come to Central City to see her mom or investigate a case.

Patty liked the idea of Laurel getting together with Oliver. They fit each other like hand and glove, and if she had to pretend to be the unwitting woman about to be proposed to in order to get those two together, it was a thing she was more than okay with. Besides, maybe it would actually give Barry a chance to grieve. After what had happened with Eobard Thawne, and the singularity that had made Ronnie Raymond sacrifice his life to stop, he needed all the love and oxytocin that he could have in his life. 

**_On the train to Central City……._ **

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(Oliver Queen’s POV)

At this moment, Oliver Jonas Queen was terribly happy that he had left the city in good hands for the weekend, and that Laurel was able to have helped save Queen Consolidated so that he could have the money he needed to make his dreams come true. Sure, it was a touch selfish to have left the city so soon after the Ra’s Al Ghul business, but his humanity still felt brittle to him. Being around Barry, and around people who still had love and joy in their hearts, was precisely what he needed.

But as he arrived to Central City, Oliver’s hope of seeing some joy was dashed quickly. He had forgotten this, having heard only bits and pieces of the story from Cisco Ramon and Caitlin Snow, but Central City looked beaten to hell. What Barry had been forced to do, the true cost of the decision to refuse to save his mother’s life at the cost of his friends, family, and everyone he loved, never felt so real until right now. Just looking around here, at the businesses still boarded up and the shell-shocked looks on everyone’s faces, was enough to break his heart. But then he saw it. The murals that had been set up to honor the Flash, the way the city seemed determined to get back to the way they had been. He knew, instinctively, that the plan he had come up with was no longer what Barry needed, what he deserved for what he had given up.

Instead, what he needed was some help. And in this moment, Oliver steeled himself and, glancing over at Laurel, he saw it himself. Barry Allen needed Oliver Queen, and Laurel Lance. The Flash needed the Green Arrow and the Black Canary. It was time to get to work.

(Barry Allen’s POV)

Why hadn’t they called him, he asked himself as he was tucking into a massive bowl of pasta puttanesca, and a pitcher’s worth of strawberry lemonade? Sure, he had a ton of work to do in order to pay penance for what he had been responsible for doing but he needed the break to help Laurel and Oliver realize how much they loved each other. And to think that they had left him too, that they had seen him for what he was and somehow decided he wasn’t worthy of their friendship, was just something too much to bear.

So, as he got up to check on how his salted caramel brownies were doing, he wasn’t expecting much. Out the window, though, he saw something truly wonderful. It was the Green Arrow and Black Canary, standing in the middle of the street directing traffic for a whole bunch of people.

This, perhaps, was Oliver Queen’s greatest skill. More so, even, than his impeccable skill with a bow and arrow, it was that he was a tremendous natural leader.

Whether it was carpenters rebuilding fences, glaziers putting fresh windows in destroyed restaurants, or construction workers repairing destroyed pieces of sidewalk, it seemed like his friends had heard about what he was doing and were picking up some of it for him so that he could heal, rest, and get back to himself.

He treasured that more than he could say. He supposed, and not for the first time, that he wanted to be doing everything he was doing with Patty. And then it hit him, he could be. He could be the man, and the lover, she deserved.

But first, before he swore his life to Patty’s, he’d have to wait for his brownies to finish.

**_Several Hours Later, at the Central City Four Seasons………_ **

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(Oliver Queen’s POV)

Honestly, he didn’t know how Barry did it. He remembered what it felt like to be in Starling after the Undertaking, and after Slade’s attempts to destroy the city the next year, and he couldn’t possibly imagine what it felt like to stay here and try and rebuild his city’s entire business district from scratch. At that moment, he felt more like a coward than he ever had. Ra’s Al Ghul, and the League of Assassins, had nearly destroyed his city and here he was taking a vacation.

But then, as he looked at his love sleeping on the bed next to him, he understood everything. He needed this, more than he realized. Laurel had always been there, always been the key to him being the person he wanted to be, but he suddenly felt like it wasn’t enough. He needed to travel the world sometimes, to see the world away from his constant battles against those who wanted to do his home harm. In this moment, as Laurel slept after a long day of doing construction, the Green Arrow began to plan. There had to be other people in Barry’s position, other heroes in need of aid and rest.

So, Oliver Queen traded on his fortune and got room service to send up 2 carafes of fair-trade Indonesian coffee and got to work. His brother needed his help tomorrow, after all. But tonight? He needed to put together a plan for no one, EVER, to feel the way Barry was feeling at this exact moment.

**_The next morning at Humphries Park……_ **

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(Patty Spivot’s POV)

There were many great things about dating the Flash. For one, she never had to worry about getting gussied up for fancy dates. When you date a man who needs 10,000 calories a day just to avoid passing out and going into hypoglycemic shock, it ends up being that you usually go to barbecue shacks, pizza joints, and anywhere where you can get a lot of food for not a lot of money. That didn’t mean he didn’t know romance. He routinely would set up nights for them overlooking this very park, where they would just talk about what they wanted out of their lives.

It also didn’t hurt that she found everything about him superlatively attractive. Laurel Lance could have the guy who looked like he bench-pressed tanks for workouts after running 25 miles. She liked the guy who smiled easily, had nimble feet for dancing or playing soccer, and held complete love for her in her heart every time she looked at him. She remembered her bad relationships fully; the times people made her feel like less than she ought to have. And Barry Allen, both in his bright-red suit and out of it, reminded her of what true love was, and what it felt like to have it.

So, this morning, with their city starting to feel like itself, Patty Spivot hatched a plan. When you go as fast as he can, it’s terribly easy to forget everything you are. She knew Barry needed to tether himself to home, to feel like he was part of something bigger than herself. And, if she was being honest, she had dreamt about being part of that home.

So, as she grabbed hold of the crimson-and-gold ring she had in the pocket of her pants, she hoped Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance were doing their job to keep her love busy.

**_Meanwhile, in a limousine heading down Winslow Drive……_ **

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(Oliver Queen’s POV)

He had heard about it, of course. You didn’t become friends with Barry Allen without hearing about it. But it was markedly different hearing about it, and actually seeing the human garbage disposal that was Barry Allen’s appetite in full bloom.

They had had it explained to them, of course. Barry wanted them to understand the downsides of his super-speed, so that if he was ever around them and was suddenly afflicted, they would be somewhat well-prepared for it. He didn’t eat the way Oliver did, and couldn’t really. There was no way for him to consume what he needed on the French and pan-Asian classical cooking Oliver made for Laurel.

But to watch Barry hammer his way through an entire box of chocolate protein bars was a truly spectacular experience. Nonetheless, Oliver’s mind wasn’t really on it. sure, he could hear the humming noise from Barry as he ate. But the whole time, he couldn’t keep his mind and his eyes off of Laurel. He knew Patty was waiting for them, and that Barry would be stunned when they saw what they had snuck in through the back door. But even now, he couldn’t shake it. He wanted to give this to Laurel too. He wanted to bind his life to hers. So, he would.

There weren’t words, couldn’t be words, for the depth of feeling he had for Laurel. And he’d be sure to apologize to Barry, and come up with a properly expensive wedding present, but he had to do this. If only to make sure he could always remember what it felt like to be human, he had to be Laurel Lance’s husband.

**_At Humphries Park……_ **

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(Patty Spivot’s POV)

As she saw the limo Laurel had told them they would be coming in, Patty Spivot was nervous. She had all of Barry’s favorites, and the blessing of Joe and Iris West. This was going to be perfect.

And then, her love walked out of the limo and she couldn’t hold back. She didn’t even want to try, honestly. She rushed past Oliver Queen and Laurel Lance and leapt into Barry Allen’s arms, and instantly she realized Barry had to have known. About this, she didn’t much care though.

She knew he loved her as much as she loved him. And if she was exuberant in showing that, even to a fault, so what?

As they fell to the grass in Humphries Park, she looked at him and knew. She didn’t even have to ask but did so anyway.

“Barry. Will you marry me?” she asked haltingly, barely trusting her mouth to get out the words.

“Yes, of course. I can’t think of anyone else I’d want to marry. I love you, Patty. Let’s show the world.”

(Oliver Queen’s POV)

Now was his moment, he realized. As Laurel watched on, wiping tears from out of her eyes, he grabbed the ring his mother had given him for when he was ready to propose to Laurel. Getting down on a knee, ignoring the popping and creaking in his joints, he waited until Laurel turned around.

“Laurel. All my life I have wanted to be worthy of you, dreamed of being the man you deserve. I may never get there, but if you’ll let me, I want to spend every day from this day to our last day trying to be the man, and the lover, you deserve. Dinah Laurel Lance, will you marry me?”

(Laurel Lance’s POV)

Her mouth wasn’t working, and her heart stopped. The only thing that was in her mind at the moment was one word, again and again: what? What? **_WHAT?_**

She had hoped for this day, ever since Barry had saved Oliver’s life and he had confessed to his undying love for her when he thought he was dying. And now that it was here, of course, she couldn’t speak.

But finally she found her voice and she knew what she wanted to say.

“Yes, Ollie. Yes I will marry you.”

And then, she felt something she didn’t know she could feel. Joy. From her feet, it radiated up her legs into her stomach and out through her voice.

“YES” and without warning, all of the windows on the limo cracked and Oliver almost flew into a tree.

They’d have to deal with that scream later, Laurel knew. But right now, everything was complete. There was nothing wrong. Life was beautiful.


End file.
